A teaser trailer for what likely will be the final Disney/Pixar computer-animated comedy will be featured before their latest collaboration, The Incredibles, opening Friday.

Hoping to parlay the public's growing appetite for auto racing, Cars features the voices of track aficionado Paul Newman, who continues to compete at age 79, and NASCAR great Richard Petty.

Cars isn't due in theaters until November 2005, and production won't finish until next summer. But the studios hope to rev up the early word for the first feature directed by Pixar co-founder and Incredibles executive producer John Lasseter since 1999's Toy Story 2.

The movie centers on speed-obsessed race car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), who gets lost on his way to the track. He lands in Radiator Springs, a downtrodden town off fabled Route 66 that has been bypassed by the interstate. There, he learns about what really matters from the cars of the 1950s and '60s.

Increasingly sophisticated computer technology provides Cars with unparalleled animation, Lasseter says. "The level of detail, the patina on the road, the peeling paint, the dirt — everything looks so real," he says.

Cars' four-year production cycle is a slow cruise for Wilson. Unlike his live-action movies, Cars is more assembly-line process, geared to the meticulous production schedule of animators.

"You'll go in every few months for four or five hours," says Wilson, 35. "You'll roll through 40 pages of dialogue, doing it over until you get it right."

Wilson also appears as Bill Murray's estranged son in December's widely anticipated The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Wilson has done animated voice-over work before, but his character in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove in 2000 was eliminated after the project's initial director was replaced.

"I was a little insecure about my voice after that," Wilson says.

Cars is expected to be the last of seven animated Pixar efforts distributed by Disney since the two companies parted ways. Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo's worldwide box office total is $2.6 billion.

This is the first Pixar film that doesn't exist in a "believable" world.

I mean, the Toy Stories had moving toys in an everday world, Bug's Life had insects in an everyday world, Monsters were imaginary characters that lived in THEIR everyday world (and did have an impact in our world) and Nemo and The Incredibles are the closest yet to actually living in the real world.

But with Cars, it seems to break the mould a little too much. I never read anywhere that there were no humans in it, though that does ring a bell, but thought this might be a "when the humans aren't around" type story where the humans and the cars egos match up in some way (or where one car falls in love with another but their owners don't get on).

Now we have very believable vehicles acting in very non-believable ways, the eyes are those all-too-eager-too-please Pixar eyes, and the double-act has returned.

I love Pixar, and I love the stuff they put out. We get the Incredibles here in a couple of weeks and I can't wait.

But am I the only one who thinks, coming after that with Cars, that Pixar is starting to look old, samey and, dare I say, boring?

This is the first Pixar film that doesn't exist in a "believable" world.

I mean, the Toy Stories had moving toys in an everday world, Bug's Life had insects in an everyday world, Monsters were imaginary characters that lived in THEIR everyday world (and did have an impact in our world) and Nemo and The Incredibles are the closest yet to actually living in the real world.

But with Cars, it seems to break the mould a little too much. I never read anywhere that there were no humans in it, though that does ring a bell, but thought this might be a "when the humans aren't around" type story where the humans and the cars egos match up in some way (or where one car falls in love with another but their owners don't get on).

Now we have very believable vehicles acting in very non-believable ways, the eyes are those all-too-eager-too-please Pixar eyes, and the double-act has returned.

I love Pixar, and I love the stuff they put out. We get the Incredibles here in a couple of weeks and I can't wait.

But am I the only one who thinks, coming after that with Cars, that Pixar is starting to look old, samey and, dare I say, boring?

I love Pixar too but this has always been my essential problem with their films: they very stoically stick to the same paradigms. Their characters can only face so many issues. Sometimes you just need that something different. And the car is waaaaayyyy too cutesy for me.

Also I totally agree with what Ben said about believable/non-believable worlds. It can't just be cute or funny, but (at least) remotely plausible from a logic point of view. If the cars are like people then how can people ride in them? How can the cars have an impact on the plot when it's the people who are controlling everything? (unless, of course, there are no people). If there are no people then why do the cars exist in the first place???

Also this reminds me of a "fake" press release I think was linked to on this forum about a year ago--DreamWorks and Pixar merging, about to collaberate on Pixar's latest film: "Fork Story"--about the rivalries of cutlery and silverware characters. It kind of feels like that's what Cars is pushing towards.

It looks awesome.... I really love it, the designs of the cars I was sceptical about at first but after seeing the teaser I say they solved the problem wonderfully. And the opening with the tune of "A Bug's Life", plus the fact that they actually mention that film in the opening of the trailer makes me excited. A Bug's Life, for some reason is my favourite Pixar film. Yeah, for me Pixar has yet to make a mistake in my opinion. Isn't John Lasseter directing this one?

Overall, I agree that Cars seems very not-believable, but then again, who knew that Lions talk (or sing for that matter) or Genies and Monsters were real. Could the idea work? Yes, definately. Will it work? I'm not sure yet. I just can't see a movie about talking cars, to me it looks like if hotwheels took over Jay Jay Jetplane.

It reminds me of that old Disney cartoon (or was it loony tunes? I don't remember, but anyway), where the characters were nothing but cars. I loved it. And this really excites me. I personally think it will work. Pixar will have a way of making everything look believable enough. Like how did a world where there is only cars, manage to creat a nascar-esque track? I haven't disliked any of Pixar's movies yet, and honestly, this movie gets me almost as excited as Finding Nemo did.

And I friggen HATE car movies! =D

And I assume there aren't any humans in the movie correct? Larry the Cable Guy doing the voice of "The Mechanic"... I'm guessing that beat up old truck they show in the trailor IS the mechanic. And the cars just in general look spiffy.

I don't think that Pixar is looking... samey (that's a word?) or boring. This car movie looks really unique to me, and I'm allready in love with the red car.